


Apollonius' Theorem

by nirejseki



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Multi, or my best attempt at it anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 17:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7276996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nirejseki/pseuds/nirejseki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sum and median of a triangle.</p>
<p>Response to tumblr prompt for "omega-Barry being rescued from Alpha-Zoom by the alpha-Len and Alpha-Mick couple to become their shared omega".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Apollonius' Theorem

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, to preface, I know NOTHING about alpha-omega dynamics. I read a few stories to try to get caught up, but seriously, nothing. Despite this I was prompted with two ABO prompts in very short succession, so I did my best.

When Barry had presented as an omega, his Dad, speaking from behind a thick pane of glass into a phone, had told him he was so, so proud of him, that he was delighted beyond his wildest dreams - his maternal grandfather on his Mom's side had been an omega, even if both Henry and Nora had been betas, and Mom had always not-so-secretly hoped for one, Dad tells him. 

Dad pretends to growl about Barry's inevitable girl and boyfriends, tells Barry to tell them his father's in prison if they start getting fresh (Barry laughs, as intended), and tells him to make sure to pick the best possible alpha to bear his children, to pick a man who was good before all else, before being right or being strong or being clever. 

Then of course Dad detours to assure Barry that if he ends up with a beta or even another omega, his father will love him just the same - Dad had a cousin who was in an alpha-beta pair and they were very happy, so however Barry's sexuality developed he'd be proud and happy (Barry cut him off there - affirmation is nice and all, but A, he's pretty sure he's into alphas and B, if his dad could stop using the word 'sexuality' or anything starting with 'sex' _right now_ , that would be great, though he later learned to treasure his father's knee jerk declaration of tolerance). The guards even let them meet in a break room for a few long hugs, a rare treat - _not every day a boy presents_ , one of them had said, smiling, _my boy's just come out beta myself_...

Joe told Barry that he needed to be careful and wary and gave him a can of mace. 

Barry would be miffed by the non-event, but he knows how Joe is. Besides, Iris tells him with a grin, it's only a matter of time before he starts vetting Barry's girlfriends and boyfriends with the same excessively protective eye he turned on Iris'.

"Welcome to the world of having people think they know what's best for you, your input not required," she tells him wryly. "Now say five hail Marys for feminism and don't let anyone except maybe Dad get away with it."

This is why Barry loves her _so much_. He'd hoped against all genetics that she'd present alpha, despite having betas on both sides all the way back, because that would have been perfect, but she'd come out beta in the end. 

He didn't care; he loved her unreservedly and had ever since they were kids. It wouldn't have been such a hurdle to overcome, especially with Joe's badly concealed support for Barry's shy suit (which Barry had a sneaking suspicion was in small part supported by Joe's assumption that omegas were more 'nurturing' but whatever, support’s support) but Iris' taste was for alphas or other betas, not omegas, and she didn't even notice. She enthused about omegas (and Barry in specific) primarily in the context of the adorable babies he was going to have once he found an alpha (or two, she said with a roguish wink).

And so Barry dated other people instead, though no one quite held a candle to Iris. Other than her, his preference did run towards alphas, strong and handsome and clever. His biological clock started ticking after he finished college, but like most modern omegas he went on the pill and postponed children in favor of a career he liked and the independence to get his feet on the ground.

(Joe bugged Barry incessantly about moving back in with him after college, dropping barely subtle hints about a shared commute and free dinner before abandoning subtlety entire in favor of asking Barry if he was really sure an omega should be living on his own, especially when working in a field populated by alphas and aggressive betas. Barry rolled his eyes at Joe's old-fashioned bullshit and teamed up with Iris to give him the 1001th iteration of the Feminism Talk.)

Then he got promoted and promoted again, because he really was a very good CSI even if perhaps not the most punctual (he managed to avoid punching the first person who asked how he intended on attracting a good alpha if he consistently demonstrated that he couldn't be reliable, as obviously no one would want to have babies with someone who couldn’t be trusted - he just asked the detective, loudly, if the same applied to child-bearing women in general or if it was just omegas he was a misogynistic dick to and then let the other omegas and females in the department do the work for him), and after a while even Joe changed his tune and started asking after grandbabies. 

Barry was aware it was kind of a stereotype that omegas all wanted babies, but damnit - _babies!_ They were small and wrinkly and adorable and they grew up into fat adorable toddlers who in turn grew up into happy little kids, and Barry wanted one. Or two. Or, you know, five. Not enough to enter a childrearing career or anything (being a CSI is basically his dream job, after all), but, well, he liked them. A lot. He wanted to present his dad with one to hold in his arms. He wanted Dad and Joe to fight over who gets to take the first picture with them and over what his or her or their first word had been. 

So, casually, Barry started looking, started evaluating dates not just by how much of a good time they'll have in the short term but also how they'd do as parents or at minimum as sires, always keeping in mind his dad's extortion to look for someone who had good in them, not just all the other attractive alpha traits. No one he met even came close to Iris. Even when he met the Starling City vigilante, who was as alpha as you get - even if he'd been willing to try to fight Felicity, a fellow omega, for her guy, he wasn't enough. He didn’t _feel_ right. Barry disqualified him based on his mood swings and his duplicitous nature - some omegas liked that in an alpha, that little touch of mystery, that feeling of you-and-me-together-only, but that wasn't Barry. 

(He actually ended up offering to take Felicity for a few dates when she had the time. Oliver couldn't seem to decide if he was jealous or just super into the idea of two omegas. Felicity was charmed. Barry was not. Oliver should get over himself and give Felicity what she wanted already; it would improve his disposition immensely. Even if being the _Starling City vigilante_ was pretty damn cool.)

And then lightning struck.

When Barry wakes up, things were different. He has other things to worry about - superpowers! protecting the city! keeping his identity secret! - instead of thinking about settling down and starting a family. 

Caitlin and Cisco join Iris in his list of best friends. With Joe's encouragement, he tries one more time for Iris, but after she yells at him he acknowledges that it was a crappy move at a crappy time. He likes Eddie; he likes Eddie a lot. Eddie's a good man, a good alpha, good enough even Barry would've considered it if he wasn't dating Iris, and he loves Iris nearly as much as Barry does; they will be great together. 

It's time to move on. 

He tries with Patty, an absolutely gorgeous alpha, tough and assertive, but the spark fizzles. 

It takes him months to acknowledge even to himself that Wells wants him, that Wells doesn't think of him as a son or a protégé, that Wells would like to have him and sire his children. It's tempting for a minute - Wells is older, experienced, he had an omega wife years ago; he would know how to 'treat Barry right' as Joe liked to put it - but when he finally does try to think of Wells that way, something in his gut shifts uneasily, Barry doesn't know why. 

Omega instincts are notoriously spot on, if inexplicable. 

So he ignores the hands that clasp his at any opportunity, that linger on his shoulder, that try once to run a thumb over the glands in his neck that could be bitten to stimulate a mating bond, the temporary flood of hormones that encouraged conception. 

If anything, he was more attracted to Captain Cold, with his brilliant mind, his quickness, his sense of humor, or Heatwave, with his strength and passion and brutal honesty, than to Wells. He didn't know what that said about him, other than the fact his gut had bad taste - who in the world would rather mate with a pair of criminals than a beloved mentor?

Then he finds out who Wells - Eobard - really is and feels nothing but relief at his escape. He would never have forgiven himself if he had given himself to the man who murdered his mother and condemned his father to prison. He thinks to himself - after Cold agrees to his terms with a smile, after he makes sure to get Dante to the hospital in time to avoid damage and defends Cisco's purported betrayal to Barry himself - that maybe he doesn't have such bad taste after all. 

Still a criminal though. No way.

After Wells - after Eobard, after the black hole, after the first of the new metas - there is Jay. Jay is kind and strong and dashing, a hero, the sort of alpha that omegas dream about. 

Barry can't stand him on sight, but the others convince him that that's just the echoes of Wells speaking, so he lets him stay, lets him flirt with Caitlin and smile that familiar alpha smile at Barry, the one that says he _wants_.

And Barry? Barry wants a family. He's tired, after the fiasco of last year; Iris is never going to choose him and even if she did, he doesn't want Eobard's future any more. Joe is obsessed with Wally and Barry doesn't want to interfere with that. His Dad getting out of prison wasn't everything he thought it would be, all his childhood; his father needs to stretch his legs and figure out who he is as a man more than he needs to be a father right now, no matter what Barry needs him to be. Barry knows that if he said a word, his dad would stay for him, but he can't ask for yet another sacrifice from a man he loves so much and who lost so much because of him.

Barry _wants a family_. 

He worries about what it means when his gut warms at the chance to help Len out, that seeing Len subsume every last aggressive alpha instinct he has in order to keep his sister safe makes him glow with pride, that he knows instinctively that Len will back his play without fear of betrayal no matter what happened last time, that he admires the ring Len wears on a chain around his neck with a feeling that burns with what he refuses to call jealousy until Len mentions offhandedly that it's from Mick. 

Alpha-alpha pairings are rarer than most other same-secondary-gender pairings, as they’re generally (stereotypically) seen as too aggressive to be able to make up after fighting; when Barry sticks his foot in his mouth on the way to the diamonds heist and asks if Len wants kids, he sees the way Len's eyes soften at the thought and his little smile when he says that if he could find an omega that could handle both him and Mick he wouldn't mind a few little ones - and Barry sees the way the smile fades when Lewis returns, sees how much Len hates him, sees without needing words how much Len fears becoming him. 

He sees Mick's face when he whisks Len away from the police and his father's dead body before he can get caged again, sees the relieved smile, the way his strong arms take Len when he cannot bear his burden alone, the way he asks after Lisa - the way he slips up, reveals how long they've both been raising her and how proud they are of her - and Barry burns with a longing unlike anything he's ever known before.

It scares him. 

He tells Len - truthfully - that he knows there's good in him, and hears the echo of his father's advice in his words. But Len is a criminal, Mick is a criminal, they are killers and thieves and even if they want to be better, even if Barry can see how much better they could be just by looking at them, he can't accept that these two are the ones his stupid, treacherous instincts want. 

So he flees, goes back to his work and his duty, lets Jay back him into a corner and nuzzle his neck even though he knows he shouldn't be doing this to Caitlin, who likes Jay much more than Barry does. Jay's exactly what you'd expect from a hero: brave, selfless, alpha. He's what Barry should want. He's there to support him when Barry is attacked by Zoom; he's kind and generous and Barry doesn't understand why he doesn't want him more than he does, why he declines Jay's invitations to go further than a few kisses, why he can't just ignore his instincts and take Jay as his mate. 

Turns out he should've listened to his instincts.

Jay is Zoom. Of course he is. Barry let the man who broke his back and terrorized his city whisper sweet things in his ear and he believed in him.

Jay takes Caitlin, supposedly out of love, but he tells Barry out of sight that he'd be happy to take Barry instead. Strokes a hand down Barry's face, ignoring Barry's moue of distaste, and speaks dreamily of children who move so fast that no one else could ever compete.

Barry thinks of Zoom's endless lust for speed and what he would do, eventually, to such children, and he shudders in horror. 

He rejects Zoom.

Zoom takes his father.

Barry sees death before him – a death that would break him - and Zoom is smirking; he'll offer a trade, Barry knows it, he’ll offer Barry's ancestor in exchange for his descendants, and Barry will agree, he knows he will, he can't see this happen, not again - and of course Zoom knows that, Jay knows that, because Barry was stupid enough to tell him...

There's a familiar buzz of something charging up, just at the very back of Barry's hearing. He stops before he accepts Zoom's deal, before he begs to be taken instead of his dad like something out of a terrible romance novel, and he freezes.

The term is apt: the beam of white fire hits them both, but where Barry is accustomed to it, shakes off the pain, Zoom is staggered, taken by surprise, slowed down against his will for the first time ever. Barry takes that moment of surprise to rescue his father, to take him away and hide him; when he returns to the scene he sees Mick laughing as Zoom dashes back, away from his flames and right into Len's frost. They've boxed him in for now, but it won't last; they're not speedsters and Zoom has twice the speed. 

Barry spirits them away. 

"No need to ruin our fun," Mick says, beaming with a savage smile, primal and exciting and overwhelming.

"Someone needs to show him that Central City doesn't bow to anyone," Len sneers, brilliant and passionate and so, so brave. 

Enough is enough.

Barry kisses him. Kisses them both, quick as a wink.

"Be mine," he tells them, both of them wide-eyed with surprise but not displeased. "When we've finished with Zoom, be mine and let me be yours. Sire my children and raise them with me."

Len catches his arm with a gentle hand, respectful and not grasping. "We'll help you anyway, Scarlet," he says. "We're not doing it for reward, and we wouldn't ask that sort of reward from anyone."

"I'm not offering it as payment," Barry says. "It's an offer; take it or not, but don't reject it for my sake or out of some sense of duty." 

They exchange a long look.

"We're not nice people," Mick warns.

"But we'll take care of you," Len says. "For as long as you'll let us."

"You're saying yes?" Barry asks, shocked and excited and filled with adrenaline. This will be hell to explain to everyone else, but his instincts are screaming with joy and this feels _right_. These are the right ones. He knows it. 

They look at each other again. Mick steps forward, pulling Barry into his arms and devouring his mouth like an all-consuming fire. "We're not nice enough to say no," he says.

When he releases Barry, Len is there and there is nothing cold in his passionate kiss. "But we're not going to say yes," he says firmly. "Not yet. When Zoom's gone and you've had time to reconsider. If you ask again then, we'll say yes. But not till then."

"That's quite a motivation," Barry says with a grin.

"It's what we were _trying_ to do," Mick points out with a smirk.

Barry shook his head. "Even with Len's cold gun to slow him down, he's too fast for you. He has twice the usual speedster speed; you can't get him fast enough without the element of surprise."

Len smirks. "Well," he drawls. "If the only issue is us not being fast enough, I think I got a solution for that." And he offers Barry his cold gun, his only defense against Barry's speed, and Mick holds out his heat gun.

Of all the courting gifts Barry's ever gotten, he thinks this one is the best by far. It's not the guns themselves - that's clearly a loan - but the trust of the man, of the two men, who rely on them. 

Barry takes the guns and goes to do battle, for his mates, for his future children, for his city, and for himself.

Zoom doesn't stand a chance.


End file.
